The firm of Ed.
Kruspe was established in Erfurt, Germany in 1864
by Johann Eduard Kruspe (1831-1919?), elder son of Carl
Kruspe (1808 - 1885). Carl Kruspe had established his
workshop originally in Mühlhausen in Thüringen (1829 -
1836) then Erfurt (1836 - after 1930) for the
manufacture of brass and woodwind instruments. Rather
than going into business with his father, Eduard
established his own workshop as successor to Carl
Zielsdorf. In 1893 the firm was turned over to Eduard's
son Fritz Kruspe (ca. 1862 - 1909) who continued the
business under his father's name. In 1897, in
collaboration with Edmund Gumpert (nephew of Friedrich
Gumpert), Fritz Kruspe built the earliest true double
horn with tandem rotary change valves. (For
further information see John Ericson's excellent
article on the development of the double horn.)

In a letter to Osbourne McConathy dated
July 3, 1956, Anton Horner described the development of
the Kruspe "Horner Modell" horn:

To go a little farther with the development
of the double horn, I must tell you that in 1900 I was
engaged to go to the Paris Exposition, and to tour
Europe with Sousa's Band... So even in Berlin, my
reputation had spread, and
Schmidt, the horn maker, who was first in Weimar,
and now had his factory in Berlin, came to talk to me.
He had invented a new B valve for a double horn, but
could not decide what kind of mouthpiece tube was best
for his new instrument. He asked me to come to his
factory to help him decide. I went to his place, and
after long trials of several mouthpiece tubes, I
approved of one which he used on his first instruments
in F an B. His B valve was a piston, like on a cornet,
which I found very awkward to operate with the thumb.
After the Sousa tour was over, I stayed in Europe for a
month to visit relatives in Vienna and Bohemia, and my
teacher, [Friedrich] Gumpert, in Leipzig. He was
delighted to see me, and when I told him that I was
playing one of his nephew's inventions, he told me that
he had retired two years before. He said: "You know
composers like Wagner, and those of today like Strauss
and Mahler really require a little motor in the horn to
play the parts, and therefore I retired." I thought it
was cleverly said. Then I went to Erfurt to see the man
who who made my double horn. Krüspe had heard of
Schmidt's new patent, and since his two valve affair was
rather temperamental in operation, he got busy and
invented the valve that is on his horn today - with
minor changes. Then I ordered a new horn with his new
valve, and told him that I preferred a much longer bell,
and also string valves. I liked this new horn.
Later, Krüspe wrote me that he was experimenting with an
all German silver metal horn; also gold brass metal horn
- here we call it copper brass. He wanted to know
whether I was interested. I ordered one of each, and the
first German silver horn he sent me was the one I used
until my last day in the [Philadelphia] Orchestra. The
copper brass horn was also a good instrument, but for my
embouchure it lacked some brilliance; for a hard and
harsh embouchure it was very good. For me, the German
silver was best, and that horn with a large bell with
small rim, and string valves became the Horner model,
which Krüspe himself named, not I.

Anton Horner (1877 - 1971)

ca. 1933 Kruspe Catalog

Serial Number 2405 on the Valve Key Saddle

The catalog description (above, right),
mentions that the horn is pitched in F, B, A, and E. The
latter two keys are achieved by an auxiliary tuning
slide supplied with the horn. In the photo at the right
two versions of the slide are shown, one in brass and
the other nickel-silver, the one which was presumably
included with this horn.

Mason Jones' Collection

Mason Jones (1919 - 2009) with his new
Kruspe 2405 ca. 1938

Anton Horner imported and sold "Horner Model"
horns until the outbreak of World War II. On September
18, 1936, he returned to Philadelphia from a trip to
Germany and quite probably had with him two horns,
including serial number 2405. That same year,
seventeen-year-old Mason Jones
entered The Curtis Institute of Music to study with
Horner. While in high school in Hamilton, New York, Mr.
Jones had been playing on a brass Kruspe horn borrowed
from Colgate University, where his father was Professor
of Romance Languages. Now in need of a horn of his own
for his studies at Curtis, his father bought him Serial
Number 2405 from Horner for $350. Two years later
without graduating from Curtis, Mr. Jones joined the
Philadelphia Orchestra, sitting next to his teacher,
Anton Horner. Like his teacher he would use the same
horn (which he always called "Number One") day in and
day out for the rest of his career.

Patches where the hand is held in the bell are commonly
found on horns that have been played professionaly for
many years especially on un-lacquered metal. In this
case, however, even the patches have patches. Mr. Jones
was meticulous in his care of the horn and could be seen
wiping moisture from the inside of the bell with the
chamois he always placed on his leg. Nevertheless the
constant contact with his hand eventually wore the bell
very thin within the first twenty years of his career.
In the photo at the top right of this page can be seen a
dark spot on the outside of the bell opposite these
patches where the metal had been worn completely
through. To the left of that spot is a diamond-shaped
patch where the metal had also been worn through
apparently from contact with Mr. Jones' thumb nail.
Despite all of the surface wear, the horn still plays
beautifully. The valves are tight, the high register is
very secure, and it still knows all of the literature!

The valve keys had become so worn that inlays
were fitted sometime in the course of Mr. Jones'
forty-plus year career. (Click for a larger view, and
note the seams of the inlays.) By the end of his career,
the inlays themselves had also become worn through. (See
below, right.)

The thumb key has also been patched in
several places, making it somewhat uncomfortable to
play. Note also the patches on the bell tail, even
though it had been covered with a hand guard.

(detail from above ca.1938 photo)

Compare the consistency of Mr. Jones' finger
placement in 1938 with the wear on the valve keys after
over forty years of playing. Note also the patches
around the pinky hook and on the bell tail even though
they were protected by a plastic hand guard.

One family member remarked that at one point
the Orchestra suggested that Mr. Jones might get a new
case for the horn. I don't see why, do you?